[CHRONIC] Solomon: As a duo, Rockets’ big two have been far from dynamic

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6266247.html

The Rockets won’t admit it, but surely by now they have figured out that this will not work.

This Yao Ming-Tracy McGrady thing, that is.

The talented big man. The talented wing man.

Batman and Robin.

Their Batman isn’t dominant enough; their Robin, while at times seemingly part of a circus, is no longer a Flying Grayson. (And let’s not even get into their friends’ not being quite super enough to carry the oft-injured stars.)

The Rockets’ Dynamic Duo has been the diagnosis-needed duo.

This is Year 5 of Yao-McGrady, and the only parade they have been involved in is the endless one to Memorial Hermann to have injuries checked out. This is likely to be the fourth straight season that one or both have missed at least 25 games due to injury. (Tonight makes it 19 down and six to go for McGrady.)

Having worn out Fannin, McGrady is twirling a baton out of town the next couple of days, seeking second and third (or fifth and sixth) opinions on his ailing knee. The Rockets would be better off if McGrady were faking the injury. At least he might come to his senses and return ready to go.

But he is hurting, and you reckon at some point a doctor will advise him to shut it down for the year. If he sucks it up and plays through it — as he did a year ago with a shoulder and knee that were begging for surgery — we’re subject to get more of what we’ve seen through 53 games.

In and out, up and down. The Rockets might as well change their slogan to “McGrady is day-to-day.”

If the Rockets could trade McGrady, they would. But the 12-year veteran will make $23 million next season.

Even if the Rockets were willing to take pennies on the dollar for McGrady, we can safely assume nobody in the NBA is stupid enough to take on that salary for a guy who has looked like a teetering boxer this entire season. And

Daryl Morey is too smart to let fans’ loud whining force him to make a move that isn’t sound for the organization.

Wait till next year

A year from now, McGrady should be the hottest trade prospect in the NBA. Either he’ll be recovered and playing well or he won’t. It doesn’t matter. That unattractive $23 million salary will come off the books of whatever team he is on at the end of next season.

That’s a valuable get-out-of-salary-cap-jail card that the Rockets likely will hold on to until next February.

Barring a miracle fleecing involving T-Mac and some all-day sucker, the Rockets still need to do something before Thursday’s trade deadline to try to improve their lot.

They get back to work tonight against New Jersey, looking at the final 29 games knowing that an NBA title is not in the offing, perhaps even feeling that another first-round playoff exit is their fate.

The Rockets have a three-game edge on the ninth-place Phoenix Suns, who fired their coach, Terry Porter, on Monday.

Houston’s 32-21 record could be deemed impressive, considering Yao and McGrady have been on the floor together for 32 games. But it’s obvious something is missing. The plan isn’t working.

We thought adding Ron Artest and Brent Barry to a crop of solid young contributors (Luis Scola, Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks) and a couple of veteran starters (Rafer Alston and Shane Battier) would give the Rockets one of the league’s top rotations.

Wrong.

This group has yet to come together in a way that makes you think it could threaten the Lakers or Spurs in the Western Conference.

But this is not the time to panic. Oh, Houston could trade Yao if it wanted to, but that would be silly for a number of reasons.

Morey has done such a fine job with the team’s salary structure that the Rockets don’t have any high-dollar players aside from Yao and McGrady.

Two-for-one deals

Artest, whose contract expires at the end of the season, makes for good trade bait, but he makes “only” $8.5 million. The better players — and many worse ones — make more than that, meaning that to pull off a substantial trade, the Rockets probably would have to add Landry, Scola or Battier to the deal.

That would be no problem if McGrady were healthy. He is not.

The Rockets’ best trade could be a hobbling McGrady for an empty chair. His No. 1 jersey for something David Stern will allow him to wear while seated on the bench.